Posted by Chelsey on April 1, 2013 · 4 Comments
Recently a few people have contacted me inquiring about how I’m managing ‘Babies & Business’. Some have little ones of their own already, and some were thinking about the future. While I (unfortunately) don’t have any great answers or magic solutions, I shared what is working for me. If you have a baby, you will know that as soon as I write this and hit publish, baby will inevitably change and my schedule will be completely thrown….but I digress.
[ETA - Life got in the way and I never ended up scheduling this post to run (shocker), then
Jen approached me and some other WAHMs (work at home mom) about our daily routines and so not only do you get to read about my day, you can also read about all of theirs! Links are all at the end of the post
]
In its most basic form, my days are broken down in the following way : (in an effort to ‘keep it real’ all pictures in the post were taken from my very real, everyday iPhone photos)
6:30 AM – Caroline wakes up. My husband gets up with her, changes her diaper and brings her to me for ‘breakfast’ while he takes a shower. After breakfast, she goes downstairs with my husband for 30 minutes or so while he gets ready for work, and I get ready for the day and glance at my email for an items that would require an immediate response.
this is Caroline, she has to wear big bows because she has little (and blond) hair and everyone thinks she is a boy otherwise
7:30 AM – My husband leaves for work and Caroline and I play or read for a bit until she is ready for her first nap of the day (almost exactly 2 hours from when she gets up, although it varies). When Caroline is awake I try to devote my time solely to her, although she is honestly very good at entertaining herself and I will answer an email or two while she is in her jumper or otherwise occupied.
8:30 to 10:30ish – Caroline naps. I start my ‘work day’, by responding to emails, checking site stats from the day before, and then starting on design work. This is usually when I try to complete my daily chore as well, but now that ‘Wedding Season’ is here – that happens less and less as my workload increases.
a dedicated shipping & packing station keeps me organized and efficient
10:30 – 1:30ish – Caroline wakes up and we usually get ready to go to do our daily activity. Monday & Friday we run errands and schedule appointments, Tuesday we go to Little Gym, Wednesday we go swimming at a local pool & grocery shopping, and Thursday we have a rotating play date with her friends. She loves watching other babies and looking at the lights in the ceiling of the grocery store, so I think this is really the highlight of her day
While we are out we often stop off at my local printer’s office to either pick up order or approve proofs.
1:30 – 3:30ish – Get back into Business Mode with emails and design work. This is usually the time when I print and process small orders (I outsource printing for large orders, letterpress items, and some smaller non-paper items – like iPhone cases).
3:30ish – Caroline is up again and we usually walk the dog to the post office downtown to ship orders, weather permitting. If the weather is unpleasant (because we do live in New England) we drive, and I secretly thank whoever invented drive-through post-office boxes. As a somewhat crazy side-note mail is often delivered to our house 3 to 4 times a day. USPS Priority comes in the morning, followed by Fed Ex, then regular USPS Mail and finally UPS.
SUPER HELPFUL : drive-through post-office outside, 24/7 mailing inside (amazing) – and a stroller with a huge basket
4ish – When we get back, I start dinner and Caroline gets her jump on in this
brilliant baby distraction for ~20 minutes. After dinner is in the oven, we play together until her dad gets home.
5:15ish – Hubs gets home and plays with Caroline until dinner is ready. If things are still cooking, I’ll do another quick round of email. Usually by 6:15 we have eaten (we eat together, at a real table, as a family – something that definitely didn’t happen before Caroline was born!) and I clean up the kitchen while my husband gets her ready for bed.
By 7pm Caroline is in bed. During the busy, ‘Wedding Season’ I head back to work for another few hours, usually until 8 or 9. This time typically involves processing orders from the day, making a list of everything I need to do the next day and other business related tasks. I try to only read and answer emails during my office hours (M-F, 8:30-5:00) and use the time at night and weekends to grow and promote my business.
10pm – My husband and I head to bed and I feed Caroline once more before going down for the night.
We have bad days. We have days where the house is a mess, dinner does not get cooked and there is a minefield of toys and clothes scattered across the floor. We have wine for days like this.
Caroline is a priority in my life, but my business is also a priority, my clients are a priority. Sometimes when Caroline wakes up from her naps I wait 5 minutes to finish whatever I’m doing before I go up and get her (I promise this is not neglect, she wakes up very happy and talks to herself in her crib – if she happens to be crying it means she is still tired and will likely have fallen back asleep before 5 minutes are up). Sometimes, I check emails while nursing and am the mom who checks her email at play dates, I’m not answering these emails or constantly on my phone, just occasionally take a mental inventory of what needs to be done when I get home. I’m sure some people will judge me for not devoting 100% of my attention to my daughter 100% of the time, but working from home is what allows me to be here with her at all – if I have to take 2 minutes to check my email, I will – and that doesn’t in any way make me a ‘bad mom’. Being a work-at-home-mom means my work/life boundaries are very blurred. I know I am far from perfect, but we are making it work.
Check out how the other ladies handle their days below!
Posted by Chelsey on April 1, 2013 · Leave a comment
I was recently invited to join Style Me Pretty‘s Little Black Book! I have been obsessed with Style Me Pretty since planning my own wedding back in 2009. They consistently put out trend-setting inspiration full of gorgeous details for weddings and have also recently expanded to include equally delightful Home & Living Inspiration! Their Little Black Book of vendors is an exclusive selection of ‘the best of the best’ and I am excited and honored to be included among them!
You can check out my full profile HERE.
Posted by Chelsey on March 20, 2013 · Leave a comment
This is the fourth in a series of 6 posts dedicated to the most frequently asked questions I get related to Wedding Invitations. Links to previous posts can be found at the end of the post.
Today we are discussing guidelines for addressing wedding invitations.
I think the most important tip to remember is No Abbreviations! Words like Street, Boulevard and Apartment should all be written out, instead of St., Blvd. and Apt. respectively. The same theory is applied to the name of the state – instead of MA, the entire name of the state should be spelled out as Massachusetts.
Typically names are addressed with accompanying titles, such as Mr. Mrs. Dr. etc. (of course, you may choose to omit these if your event is more casual). If one of the guests has a job-related title such as Dr. or Gen. they should be listed first, regardless of the gender. Some other common job-related titles include Honorable (judges), Captain, Reverend, and Rabbi. If both guests are doctors, address them as The Doctors Last Name, if they do not share a common last name use Dr. with each full name, in alphabetical order. Although PhDs should be congratulated on their scholastic achievements, they just get the standard Mr., Mrs. or Ms. when being addressed.
If the couple shares a last name you may address them as Mr. and Mrs. Husband’s First Last. If the couple is married and does not share a last name, or is unmarried, there are two schools of thought. The first is to order the names alphabetically by last name, for example, Ms. Lucy Allen and Mr. Greg Sherwood. The second, is to list the person you know best, first.
Married same sex couples with different last names would be addressed alphabetically as well. If the couple shares a last name they can be addressed as ‘Messrs’ (yes, really) or ‘Madames’ with each first name and the shared last, Madames Ellen & Tracey Smith.
If a women is widowed she should still be addressed according to her late husband’s name (ie Mrs. Henry Greene). Divorced women get addressed as Mrs. First Former Married Last, unless she has chosen to use her maiden name.
Got all that?
Future FAQ topics include :
- Tips for Assembly & Mailing
- How to write the perfect Thank You note
Already Covered :
Posted by Chelsey on March 4, 2013 · Leave a comment
Our Charles wedding invitation, shown above in a regal collection of purples, features a signature monogram in the upper left corner. Repeated throughout the wedding suite, and reception items, a monogram is a great way to easily tie an event together.
Vibrant florals coordinate perfectly with the rich purple tones in Charles. Even with his classic crest, Charles does not take himself too seriously – he fits in everywhere from stark city lofts to rustic barns.
// Tablescape // Cake // Flowers // Invitations // Suit //
As always, our Charles Wedding Invitation Suite is available in both affordable flat printing and stunning letterpress in almost any color imaginable! Coordinating items, such as save-the-dates and thank you notes are also available. Samples are available in our Etsy Shop!
Posted by Chelsey on February 28, 2013 · Leave a comment
This is the third in a series of 6 posts dedicated to the most frequently asked questions I get related to Wedding Invitations. Links to previous posts can be found at the end of the post.
Today’s topic is: Wedding Invitation Wording
When ordering your wedding invitations with Chelsey Emery you have the option to completely customize the wording on your invitation to accurately reflect the style and tone of your event. While this is great if you know exactly what you want to say, if you don’t – it can also be completely overwhelming! We have put together some guidelines and etiquette tips for reference, but unless you are inviting Emily Post to your wedding, feel free to adjust and modify them to suit your personal event. Sometimes even the oldest rules are meant to be broken –
Item #1 has the most variables in my opinion. There are a number of different situations that can complicate this seemingly easy task – For example, what if your parents are divorced but both are paying and your mom is remarried? We cover a number of different suggestions for identifying the Host or Hosts in our ETIQUETTE section as well as suggestions for wording for more casual events.
Future FAQ topics include :
- Envelope Addressing 101
- Tips for Assembly & Mailing
- How to write the perfect Thank You note
Already Covered :
